When PC manufacturers decide to fuse Nvidia’s Pascal graphics architecture with AMD’s Ryzen CPUs, powerful performance at work and play are must haves. The CYBERPOWERPC BattleBox Essential GMA2000A fuses both technologies, and the result is, a gaming desktop that, when it comes to processing power, can rival some desktops costing thousands of dollars more.

It isn’t the most powerful desktop around –not when we have GTX 1080 Ti systems like the CYBERPOWERPC BattleBox Ultimate SLC8600A, provided you’re willing to shell out more cash. But if all you want is something that’s capable at work and play, doesn’t cost so-much, and is well designed, the BattleBox GMA2000A is a value worth a long look.

Design

The reasonable pricing of the BattleBox GMA2000A might work in favor of its aesthetics. CyberPower, just like other boutique manufacturers, sometimes goes overboard with the bling, and here the design isn’t restrained, whatsoever. The tower case is all aluminum and all black along the top, upper front and right side, giving the system a good visual appeal. It measures 18 by 7.75 by 20.5 inches in and weighs 25 pounds, which is within the realm of a standard tower.

On the left side and lower front panel, you have a tinted tempered glass door cover that lets you view and access your components. You’re able to show off the cable routing, and even view the cooling fans with orange LED lights on the front panel. To access the system components, all you do is remove four thumbscrews holding the glass door, and then lift it straight off. The main highlight here must be the bold CyberPower logo applied on the front glass panel.

Connectivity

There’s an optical drive on the front panel, but its covered with a side opening flap, which is nice to keep the PC looking extra seamless. Although we’re now buying our games from digital services like Steam or Origin, an optical drive comes handy when you need to access file from your old DVDs. Plus, the way its placed, it doesn’t affect the system’s austerity.

As it is, there are easy access ports – ­two USB 3.1, microphone, and headphone on the top of the front panel, with a Reset button further back on the left flank. At the back, you have more ports – four USB 3.0, four USSB 2.0, RJ-45 Ethernet, 7.1 Audio channel; one HDMI, DisplayPort and a DVI port on the graphics card. It skimps on built-in Wi-Fi, so you’ll have to buy a USB adapter separately.

Storage

For storage, the system comes with a 1TB 7200rpm hard drive, and a 120GB solid state drive (SSD) for program files. Having a speedy SSD is lately becoming standard on both desktop and laptops, with hope that we’ll be seeing SSDs with bigger capacities on budget systems soon. If you need more storage, you can get an external drive and hook it up through one of the high-speed USB 3.1 ports. Still, you have more than enough storage for all your games, movies and documents. Bundled into the package is a RGB 7 color gaming keyboard and mouse combo.

Performance

If you’re paying almost double an entry-level gaming PC, you should expect no-less than high-end speed, on all titles. The Gamer Ultra packs a AMD Ryzen 7 1700 CPU, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB) graphics card and 8GB DDR4 system memory. This among AMD’s new top-end chips, which has a base clock speed of 3.0GHz (which totals to 16 threads), and is a direct competitor to Intel’s Core i7-770K. That chip’s base clock is 3.0GHz, but it can stretch to 3.7GHz as needed, and gets better wattage than its rivals.

With such premium components, it’s no doubt the Gamer Ultra is a performance dynamo. In general performance, this system gives you more computer than what you pay for – placing itself in the same ball pack with most high-end gaming PCs. It should be able to complete video or photo editing projects easily, when you’re not playing.

Gaming performance is another frontier where the Essential GMA2000A really separates itself from the pack. It’s a VR Ready system with HTC VIVE and Oculus Rift, which is a feature set you can rarely find among competitors. The GTX 1060 is a capable video card, and is part of the GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 Series of high-end Pascal graphics cards.

Being VR Ready with HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, the system offers more PC that most competitors. It will deliver crisp frame rates on most titles played at 1080p, and you can afford to tune the eye candy accordingly without affecting playability. For instance, the GTX 1060 delivers 97 FPS on Battlefield 1and 96 FPS on Fallout 4, making it a worth contender among mid-high-end gaming PCs.

Power to Play and Work for much Less

The CYBERPOWERPC BattleBox Essential GMA2000AOut of stock at Amazon
is designed with ‘gamers’ in mind, gauged on both design and muscle. It is among the first in what will undoubtedly be a line of gaming desktops that challenge the conventional cliché of where the intersection of performance and budget should lie. For much less than you’d pay for most true high-end gaming machines, you’re getting a system that is adept to handling heavy workloads.

This side has been Intel’s territory for a while, but we’re now seeing AMD challenge it, with the composition of high-end gaming and luxury gaming desktops, for much less. The Ryzen 7 1700 fused with GTX 1060 GPU provides enormous performance benefits, that will be better utilized if you find a software that uses all its core. That said, the CyberpowerPC GMA2000A is a VR Ready system that delivers solid playability modern titles, and gives additional processing capabilities for ever-decreasing amounts of money, which is good.

]]>https://desktoptrends.com/cyberpowerpc-battlebox-gma2000a-review/feed/0196CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Master GMA2200A Reviewhttps://desktoptrends.com/cyberpowerpc-gamer-master-gma2200a-review/
https://desktoptrends.com/cyberpowerpc-gamer-master-gma2200a-review/#respondWed, 20 Jun 2018 20:16:17 +0000http://localhost/word/?p=189Last fall, Nvidia released its Pascal graphics architecture and a few days later AMD countered with its new Ryzen CPUs: Both redefined the amount of performance we’d expect from systems for ever-decreasing amounts of money. The CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Master GMA2200A is among the first system that we’ve seen fusing the latest AMD Ryzen CPU and […]

]]>Last fall, Nvidia released its Pascal graphics architecture and a few days later AMD countered with its new Ryzen CPUs: Both redefined the amount of performance we’d expect from systems for ever-decreasing amounts of money. The CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Master GMA2200A is among the first system that we’ve seen fusing the latest AMD Ryzen CPU and AMD RX 580 graphics card– an answer to Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1060 GPU.

It is a well-configured gaming desktop that, when it comes to playing, can hold its own against some pricier desktops. If you have a heavier wallet, you can find a pure gaming PC. But if all you need is a system that’s capable at work and play, it’s hard to find a better-balanced system than this.

Design

If bling is ‘your thing’, here is a system that is both elegant and imposing. The Gamer GMA2200A packs cool components into a fine-looking tower chassis, that looks great on every angle. The real highlights here are the grilled front Panel with diamond patterns, custom LED case lighting and a transparent glass side panel that provides a clear view of the system’s orange backlighting and impressively neat component layout.

At 18.6 by 17.6 by 7.8 inches (HWD) and 32 pounds, the Gamer Master will occupy a good amount of space on your desk, though there are tons of other case options – both bigger and smaller. Our unit is bigger than gaming desktops like the Acer Aspire GX-785-UR19 (18.24 by 15.67 by 6.89; 18.43 pounds) and the ASUS GR8 II-T043Z (11.7 x 3.4 x 11; 8.8 pounds), but not quite colossal as full-tower gaming PCs, such as the iBUYPOWER Ultra Gaming PC (21.38 by 12.5 by 25; 30 pounds).

Connectivity

There’s an optical drive on the front panel, but its covered with a side opening flap, which is nice to keep the PC looking extra seamless. Although we’re now buying our games from digital services like Steam or Origin, an optical drive comes handy when you need to access file from your old DVDs. Plus, the way its placed, it doesn’t affect the system’s austerity.

As it is, there are easy access ports – ­two USB 3.1, microphone, and headphone – and the Reset button on the on the top of the front panel. At the back, you have more ports – four USB 3.0, four USB 2.0, RJ-45 Ethernet, 7.1 Audio channel; one HDMI, DisplayPort and a DVI port on the graphics card. It skimps on built-in Wi-Fi, so you’ll have to buy a USB adapter separately.

Storage

For storage, the system comes with a 2TB 7200rpm hard drive. For such a system, not having an SSD is a sore thumb, but you can easily add one to speedy things. Still, you have more than enough storage for all your games, movies and documents. That said, the CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Master GMA340 leverages good storage and speedy performance thanks to a 1TB hard drive paired with a 120GB SSD. Bundled into the package is a RGB 7 color gaming keyboard and mouse combo.

Performance

If you’re paying almost double an entry-level gaming PC, you should expect no-less than high-end speed, on all titles. The Gamer Ultra packs a AMD Ryzen 7 1700 CPU, AMD Radeon RX 580 (4GB) graphics card and 16GB DDR4 system memory. This is AMD’s new top-end chip, which has a base clock speed of 3.0GHz (which totals to 16 threads), and is a direct competitor to Intel’s Core i7-770K. That chip’s base clock is 3.0GHz, but it can stretch to 3.7GHz as needed, and gets better wattage than its rivals.

With such premium components, it’s no doubt the Gamer Ultra is a performance dynamo. In general performance, this system gives you more computer than what you pay for – placing itself in the same ball pack with most high-end gaming PCs. It should be able to complete video or photo editing projects easily, when you’re not playing.

Gaming performance is another frontier where the Gamer Ultra really separates itself from the pack. It’s a VR Ready system with HTC VIVE and Oculus Rift, which is a feature set you can rarely find among competitors. Most of its immediate competitors are equipped with GTX 1060 graphic cards, but the AMD Radeon RX 580 (4GB) graphics card delivers impressive frame rates per second (FPS), and being VR-Ready is a notable bonus. For instance, it delivers 67 FPS on Grand Theft Auto and 69 FPS on Fallout 4, which are playable frame rates at native resolutions.

The Bottom Line

The CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Master GMA2200AOut of stock at Amazon
isn’t all flash, it has plenty of muscle. It is among the first in what will undoubtedly be a line of gaming desktops that challenge the conventional cliché of where the intersection of performance and budget should lie. For much less than you’d pay for most high-end gaming machines, you’re getting a system that is adept to handling heavy workloads.

This side has been Intel’s territory for a while, but we’re now seeing AMD challenge it, with the composition of high-end gaming and luxury gaming desktops, for much less. The Ryzen 7 1700 provides enormous performance benefits, that will be better utilized if you find a software that uses all its core. That said, the Gamer Master is a VR Ready system that delivers solid 1080p playability, and gives additional processing capabilities you’ve never had before for the price.

]]>https://desktoptrends.com/cyberpowerpc-gamer-master-gma2200a-review/feed/0189Alienware X51 AX51R3-1510BLK Reviewhttps://desktoptrends.com/alienware-x51-ax51r3-1510blk-review/
https://desktoptrends.com/alienware-x51-ax51r3-1510blk-review/#respondMon, 14 May 2018 02:07:04 +0000http://localhost/word/?p=118The Alienware X51 AX51R3-1510BLK is the latest entrant into the Alienware family of gaming desktops, but it’s more of an upgrade to last year’s… Alienware X51 AX51R3-1510BLK Review Alienware X51 AX51R3-1510BLK Review Matthew Burke 2018-08-01 78 78% GOOD THE BOTTOM LINEThe Alienware X51 AX51R3-1510BLK is a neat little system that scores where it matters; gaming, […]

The Alienware X51 AX51R3-1510BLK is the latest entrant into the Alienware family of gaming desktops, but it’s more of an upgrade to last year’s…

Alienware X51 AX51R3-1510BLK Review

Alienware X51 AX51R3-1510BLK Review

Matthew Burke

2018-08-01

78

78%

GOOD

THE BOTTOM LINE

The Alienware X51 AX51R3-1510BLK is a neat little system that scores where it matters; gaming, by combining the latest Skylake CPU, a good GPU and enough system memory for the ultimate gaming experience.

EDITORS RATING

THE GOOD: Nice looking SFF design. Solid performance.
THE BAD: Prospects for future expansion are slim. Mouse and Keyboard are not included.

The Alienware X51 AX51R3-1510BLK is the latest entrant into the Alienware family of gaming desktops, but it’s more of an upgrade to last year’s innovative Alienware X51-R2. What you have in the newer Alienware X51 (R3) is the same space-saving small-form-factor (SFF) chassis; the same cool lighting effects but with enhanced processing power. Upgrades from last year’s iteration come by way of newer Sky Lake CPU that replaces last year’s Haswell processor, and it comes with an updated NVIDIA GeForce graphics card.

Any gaming enthusiasts will agree that PC gaming is way “better” than console gaming, considering that serious gaming rigs can easily support more than one monitor, and can be tweaked by the gaming public for enhanced game play elements. For that, we can’t agree more that the latest Alienware X51 AX51R3-1510BLK is a good bet in the entry-level gaming desktop PCs.

Design and Features

For gamers who don’t have the luxury of space to stow a full-fledged gaming rig, the X51 suffices as the ultimate space saver. Measuring 13.5 by 3.74 by 12.52 inches (HWD), this rig will fir in the most limited of spaces in any room. It features the same matte-black case with a glossy-black front panel from last year’s X51, with each side panel sporting a triangular multicolor assembly.

The front panel is signed with a backlit Alienware logo, joined by a slot-loading DVD multi-drive. The Alienware X51 (R3)’s interior arsenal is accessible via a screw and a slight backward push of the side panel, but you need to be careful not to sever the lighting cable.

Although there isn’t much room for expansions, the compact chassis allows you to access your processors, graphics card, memory, wireless controller and hard drives; all of which can be upgradable through replacement of existing units as needed. This means that although you don’t have any open slots for additional expansion cards, nor vacant drive bays, you still have the option of replacing the single-slot graphics card.

Connectivity

further complemented with a pair of USD 3.0 ports, a pair of audio jacks (headphone and microphone) as well as a power switch. On the rear you have a collection of ports including USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports, a LAN port, six audio jacks that support 7.1 audio, an optical S/P DIF audio output, and a coaxial S/P DIF audio output.

On the dedicated Nvidia GeForce GTX 745 graphics card is the same from last year’s model and it provides HDMI, DVI, and VGA video outputs, while at the same time offering embedded Wi-Fi b/g/n networking powered by external power brick for optimal performance.

Storage

The 1TB, 7,200rpm hard drive comes with Windows 10 pre-installed and we don’t have much bloatware installed here, safe for AlienFX utility seen in previous models that serves to assign colors and event themes for the side panel and alien head lights.

The Dell XPS x8900-2506BLK eschews all the competitors to lead the pack with a score of 3,527, thanks to a more potent Skylake Intel Core i7 CPU. On multimedia tests, the X51 (R3) holds its own against the competition on both Handrbake and Photoshop tests, meaning that it is aggressive enough for some serious multimedia editing tasks. Even with the limited space, make sure to give the X51 enough clearance around the chassis, especially the cooling perforations on the top. Although the X51 is not a din, form previous experience we know they tend to make themselves heard once in a while.

Graphics Performance

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 745 with 4GB memory gives the X51 (R3) enough muscle to blaze through most game titles. Here you’re looking at between 50-60fps on most modern games at 1080p settings, and if possible you can push it up a little. However, in as much as you’re yearning for the good fps, bear in mind that cooling in this unit isn’t one of the best, especially for a gaming desktop.

The X51 uses a low profile compact blower design which sounds promising o paper, but in our tests, the unlocked K-series processors that can overclock up to 4.4GHz would not be kept silent though not uncomfortable at all.

The system comes pre-installed with Windows 10 Home (64-bit), but I know most gamers will yank it out for Win 8.1, but that isn’t a deal breaker for now. The system delivers better fps on most games even in ultra settings, which is almost similar to what we saw in the Lenovo X315 that remained stable even as we toned-up the eye candy during gameplay.

The Bottom Line

The Alienware X51 AX51R3-1510BLK shows that you don’t need a full-fledged tower to enjoy serious PC gaming. Sometimes a little neat system that won’t dry your pockets is just enough. A combination of the latest Skylake Quad-Core i5 CPU and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 745 GPU both provide solid entry-level gaming prowess. Plus, you get the signature Alienware dime, including game-ready lighting and a glowing alien head, all in a compact space saving SFF chassis.

For storage, you have a 1TB hard drive, which is quite enough for stashing away your games, movies and other project, and there is a pretty decent collection of I/O ports for your external peripherals, but you have no room for internal expansion.

If you’re not interested in future upgrades and are satisfied with the 8GB and Core i5 (which is actually more than enough for duding gamers), then the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 745 is what we can call as step in the right direction. However, for those looking for enough real estate for future upgrades and expansion, our Editors’ Choice budget gaming desktop, the Dell XPS x8900-2506BLK is a safe bet, thanks to a larger, expansion-friendly case, more storage space, and better overall gaming performance.

The CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra GUA880 (GUA880WIN10) is an upgrade of last year’s Windows 8.1 CyberpowerPC Gamer GUA880 that we reviewed here. This gaming rig sticks to the entry-level price…

CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra GUA880 Review

CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra GUA880 Review

Matthew Burke

2018-08-01

73

73%

GOOD

THE BOTTOM LINE

The Windows 10-based CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra GUA880 uses every inch of its mid-tower size to provide the best gaming and multitasking experience possible.

EDITORS RATING

THE GOOD: Good gaming performance. Upgradable.
THE BAD: The cooling fans can sometimes be loud for comfort

The CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra GUA880 (GUA880WIN10) is an upgrade of last year’s Windows 8.1 CyberpowerPC Gamer GUA880 that we reviewed here. This gaming rig sticks to the entry-level price tag, the same design but comes with a few tweaks in the name of Windows10 pre-installed among other nice things. While this system shouts to be a favorite for heavy gamers, it is still a decent choice for those that want to do things quickly and smoothly thanks to its multi-functional capability).

For the ‘new-eggs’ in gaming, the Gamer Ultra GUA880 is a better bet than making a purchase from one of the top five computer manufacturers and slapping a gaming card into it.

Design

The GUA880 also looks nice and classy with its sleek black and blue mid tower gaming chassis. It weighs 32 lbs and has the dimensions of 19.6 x 7.5 x 16.8 inches, a gaming keyboard and mouse are included in the package. The smilodon chassis provides enough estate for more expansion, including at least three or four more hard drives, two more memory DIMMs, two more PCIe x1 cards (depending on the spacing of the graphics cards), and two more PCI cards. The case is easy to get along with, with easy to open latches.

However, you’ll need to be a bit careful with the lead wire from the case door fan. This is why mid-tower cases are popular for: future expansion. The case down sides are small case fans on the side and back of the system. They are quite loud, and though they don’t sound like jet engines, they do pump a lot of white noise into the room. To be comfortable, you’ll probably want to turn the built-in speakers up, or wear headphones while playing.

Inputs and Storage

On the 2015 iteration you have a good variety of connectivity options, such as 7 x USB 2.0 ports (4 at the back and 3 at the front), 24x DVD±RW Dual-Layer Super-Multi Drive to read and burn DVDs and CDs, a gaming keyboard and mouse to ensure you’ll be able to play at your absolute best (1 x PS/2 keyboard port, 1 x PS/2 mouse port), Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet with RJ-45 port, 3 x audio jacks (Line In/Line Out/Microphone), DVI port, HDMI port, VGA port, Integrated – 10/100/1000 Ethernet.

The system features a massive 1TB at 7200rpm spindle speed SATA III 6.0 GB/s interface hard drive and 64-bit version of the latest Windows 10, but you can downgrade to Windows 8/7 as you deem necessary. The processing power of AMD FX-4300 is quite suitable for all the system intensive heavy tasks. And it is accompanied by NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 610 1GB – PCI Express x 16 discreet graphics card for the superior graphics performance when you’re watching movies, playing games or editing photos.

Performance

With an AMD FX-4300 3.80GHZ Quad-Core CPU, made to be overclocked beyond the set threshold up to 4.0GHz, and paired with 8 GB of high-performance DDR3 SDRAM, the Ultra GUA880 is built for performance, and it delivered. In our Benchmark tests, the CyberpowerPC GUA880 scored 4, 710 points, several hundreds of points ahead of most competitors, and pulling ahead of the category-leading CybertronPC Patriot GM1293D (4,618 points) by a narrow margin.

In gaming performance on newer titles, it lands towards the front of the pack, but it comes behind the overclocked Lenovo X315 and the powerful Alienware AX51R2-9310BK Gaming Desktop. Performance is also superb in multimedia tests, where the Ultra GUA880 completed Handbrake in 28 seconds (tying the Alienware AX51R2-9310BK), and nearly offered the fastest time in Photoshop, completing the test in 2 minutes 48 seconds.

But where the latest CyberpowerPC Gamer GUA880 really trounced trounces similarly-priced competitors must be in graphics and gaming performance, thanks to NVIDIA GeForce GT720 1GB Video Card. It allows the gaming rig to nab top scores in gaming tests, arguably the best gaming performance so far in the midrange category. When tried in Alien vs. Predator, the Gamer GUA880 produced 217 frames per second (fps) at 1,355-by-768 resolution and moderate detail settings, and 78fps at 1,920-by-1,080 resolution and high detail.

The Bottom Line

With awesome test scores and a collection of parts made to be pushed to the limit, the Windows 10-based CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra GUA880 uses every inch of its mi-tower size to provide the best gaming and multitasking experience possible. With the presence of room for upgrades, PC tinkerers out there will definitely find the system irresistible, the performance speaks for itself, launching it ahead of comparable midrange gaming rigs. With all that power selling for such a reasonable price, the Gamer Ultra GUA880 is the near pint-sized PC to beat, replacing the CybertronPC Patriot GM1293D as our Editors’ Choice for the mid-range gaming desktops.